The execution of former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein serves not justice, but the political purposes of the Bush administration and its Iraqi stooges. The manner in which the execution was carried outâ€”hurriedly, secretively, in the dark of night, in a mockery of any semblance of legal processâ€”only underscores the lawless and reactionary character of the entire American enterprise in Iraq. There were conflicting statements throughout Friday about how and under what circumstances the death sentence against Hussein, confirmed by an Iraqi government tribunal December 26, would be carried out. There were continual communications back and forth between the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, which nominally controlled the judicial proceedings, and the American military authorities who had physical control of the prisoner and delivered him to the execution site in the US-controlled Green Zone.

Saddam HusseinThe ouster of the Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein by Coalition Forces led by the United States plunged that nation in to chaos which led to the current â€˜sectarian warâ€™ or now slowly being termed as â€˜civil warâ€™ but execution at 6:05 am Iraqi time on Saturday will absolutely not have any bearing of whatâ€™s happening now in Iraq was the consensus of political and foreign policy experts here. rofessor Michael Scharf, who trained the Iraqi judges for the trial, told the CNN that the trial was very carefully planned using Iraqi official documents that bore the signature of Saddam Hussein. He opined that the trial was free and fair even dropping several charges against the former Iraqi dictator.

Saddam HusseinSadam Hussein is dead, an end of a saga, especially in the Arab world. Iraqâ€™s former President has been served with Victorâ€™s justice, three years after he was hauled from a hole in the ground by pursuing US Forces. The deposed president was found guilty over the killing of 148 members of the Shiite population of the town of Dujail after militants tried to assassinate him there in 1982, during Iraqâ€™s war with Shiite Iran. Saddam Hussein was hanged today (Saturday at 6.05 Iraqi time) under a sentence imposed by an Iraqi court, according to an Iraqi official. Asked if Saddam were dead, the official in the Iraqi prime minister's office said, â€œYes, the body of Saddam Hussein is in front of me.â€

Spiritually guided some 3 million Muslim pilgrims from around the globe crowded onto holy Mount Arafat near Mecca on Friday to seek a spiritual stability and peace for Muslims and others around the world and hoping for a safe Hajj. Muslims strongly believe God (Allah) will accept their prayers if they are made within the sacred zone on the mountain plain, the site of Prophet Mohammad's (PBUH) last sermon 1,400 years ago. Wearing simple white robes to symbolize equality and selflessness, many trekked at dawn to the rocky outcrop, known as Jebel al-Rahma (Mount Mercy). The performing Hajj is one of the pillars of Islam, which every adult Muslim must undertake at least once in their life if they can afford it and are physically able.

Marumalarchi Dravida Munnethra Kazhagam, founded by Vaiko after breaking away from DMK, the mother party to many of today's' Dravidian politicians, has suffered a formal split on Friday signaling the downfall of firebrand Vaiko. L Ganesan and Gingee N Ramachandran, the two dissidents, who were stripped off their party posts by Vaiko last week, turned the tables on Vaiko at a special General Council meeting they had convened in Chennai on Friday. The meeting passed a resolution expelling Vaiko from the party.

In Britain, Scotland Yard is searching for the LTTE killers who killed last year, Subramanian Sivakumar (44) a father of three. Scotland yard has offered Â£20,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and prosecution of those responsible for the murder. Anyone with information should telephone the incident room on 020 8345 4133 or ring â€œCrime stoppersâ€ anonymously on 0800 555 111. Detectives investigating the killing of Subramaniam Sivakumar, 44, believe it may have been the work of followers of the Tamil Tigers, the Sri Lankan separatist group outlawed across the world.

Nagaland Minister for Health and Family Welfare Dr TM Lotha said the Lotha people particularly the younger generations should be prepared to face the massive onslaught by the advancement of the world where only the â€œfittestâ€ could survive. Addressing an annual conference of the Wozhuro Range Students Union (WRSU) here at the Community Hall today, the Minister pointed out how the world had been fast â€œshrinkingâ€ and becoming â€œglobal villageâ€ due to the advance technologies and cyber age.

In recent times, the pendulum powered by ethnic, political and religious rival engines has been swinging and beating the drums of instability, uncertainty and chaos in Nigeria. Ethnic militias and activists are making one demand or another, from true federalism that would allow for resource control to complete break-up of the country. This is not surprising considering the fact that Nigeria has operated on the aggregate, an unjust and oppressive system since its existence as a Nation. Nigerian federal system though designed after the U.S. structure is flawed as it failed to adopt the major ingredients that made the U.S. a success, which include resource control and residency.

So, another split in the Janata Dal (Secular)! But the â€˜Janataâ€™ family has become synonymous with splits and another rupture hardly causes any political ripples. A noticeable thing about the latest drama in the JD(S), however, is that it revolves round the president of the party, former prime minister, H. D. Deve Gowda, who runs the party unit in his home state, Karnataka, as his fiefdom. As is inevitable at the time of a split in a party, one group has expelled prominent members of the other and the rival camps have laid claim to be the â€˜realâ€™ party.

Hundreds of people were killed December 26 when a gas pipeline exploded in a poor neighborhood in Lagos, Nigeria, the latest in a series of similar tragedies that have claimed the lives of thousands of people in the oil-rich yet impoverished African nation. The blast occurred as hundreds of residents of the Ebule Egba district of Lagos surrounded the punctured state-owned pipeline, and were collecting the gasoline in cans, buckets and plastic bags.

Saddam Hussein"Amnesty International has long documented the massive human rights abuses carried out under Saddam Hussein's rule. The organization has consistently called for Hussein to be held accountable through fair trial proceedings, and strongly contests that his execution symbolizes justice servedâ€ said Larry Cox, Executive Director Amnesty International USA in a statement. "The rushed execution of Saddam Hussein is simply wrong. It signifies justice denied for countless victims who endured unspeakable suffering during his regime, and now have been denied their right to see justice served.